Seam stretcher



E. N. EATON SEAM STRETCHER Filed Dec. 19, 1956 March 31, 1959 FIG-I- IN V EN TOR.

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United States PatefitQf SEAM STRETCHER Edward N. Eaton, St. Petersburg, Fla. Application December 19, 1956, Serial No. 629,414

1 Claim. (Cl. 269-488) The present invention relates to an improved seam stretcher for firmly holding material when cutting or ripping seams and the like.

Heretofore, clamping means have been provided for holding material while sewing. Such means, however, has been found objectionable and unacceptable, since a metal clamp usually has to be attached to a piece of furniture, such as a polished table or sewing machine, with the result that, not infrequently, it mars or damages the same. Moreover, considerable time and delay is often required to set up or disconnect the clamp from the table.

Accordingly, an important object is to provide a simple, efiicient, economical, and compact seam stretcher that may readily be connected to sewing material or garments for altering the same, and for the purpose of easily and efficiently stretching a seam so as to expose the threads in order to facilitate the cutting and removal of the threads from the seam without danger of damaging the material and at a minimum expenditure of time and effort.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying claims and drawings.

Referring to the drawing, in which are shown several preferred embodiments the invention may assume:

Figure l is a detailed side elevational view of a flexible seam stretcher, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of Figure 1 looking along the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a perspective view, showing a housewife or dressmaker, in a seated position, and one of the many ways the stretcher or holder may be firmly held so as to facilitate the exposing of the scam in order to cut and remove a thread therefrom;

Figure 5 is a detailed perspective view showing how the seamed material is manually separated by the stretcher so as to expose the threads during the cutting operation;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of scam stretcher; and

Figure 7 is an end view of Figure 6, with the scissors removed.

Referring to the drawings, the seam stretcher or holder is preferably in the form of a flexible strap 10 made of any suitable, durable fabric or web material capable of withstanding the uses to which a device of this character are normally subjected. The strap 10 may be of any desired length and width and, as shown in Figure 1, has any number of longitudinally spaced snap fasteners 11, four of which are shown for the purpose of illustration. A tape loop or flexible ring 12, preferably made of the same material as the strap 10 and of the same width, has its overlapped ends 13 provided with a snap fastener 14 that connects these ends together and also is arranged to be detachably connected to any one of the coacting snap fasteners 11 on the strap 10, so as to vary the opera- 2,879,990 Patented .Mar. 31, 19 59 operator, or any other relatively fixed support. As shown in Figure 4, the loop 12 is of such length as to be held in a fixed position by the foot or toe 15. The end of the strap opposite to that to which the loop- 12 is connected, may also be provided with a transverse loop 16 (Fig. l) for receiving a suitable fastening means, such as the safety pin 17 for the purpose of detachably connecting the strap 10 to the seamed material or garment.

In the modified form of the invention, shown in Figures 6 and 7, the seam stretcher is formed of an elongated strap 18 whichis folded upon itself as at 19 to form the confronting sides 20 and 21 that terminate in the overlapped end portions 22 and 23, preferably connected at longitudinally spaced points by the transverse line of stitching 25, so as to form an end loop 26 and any number of intermediate loops 27, which are arranged selectively to be connected to a suitable fixed holder or support, such as the foot 15 of the operator (Fig. 4). The end of the strap opposite the loop 26 is stitched as at 28 to form a small transverse loop 29 for receiving one arm 30 of a safety pin or the like 31, so as to provide simple and efficient means for detachably connecting the strap 18 to the material or garment. Additionally, the sides 20 and 21 of the strap 18 adjacent the fastening means 31 may be formed with spaced transverse lines of stitching 32 that provide a loop or pocket 33 for receiving the scissors 34 or any other suitable cutting instrument, so as to position the same close to the hand of the operator when the parts are assembled.

In operation, assuming that the operator, such as a seamstress, housewife, dressmaker, or tailor 35, is seated in the rocker or chair 36 and wishes to remove the thread 37 from the seam 38 of the garment or material 39 (Fig. 5), the operator first inserts the toe 15 of her foot through the loop 12, after making the proper adjustment of the length of the strap 10, by inserting the snap fastener 14 into the proper snap fastener 11, so as to adjust the length of the strap 10. The strap is then connected by the safety pin 17 to the material 39 on one side of the seam 38 so that the strap 18 now becomes the third hand for the operator. This enables both hands to be used, one of which holds the side 40 of the seam opposite to the safety pin 31, so as to separate or stretch the seam and expose the thread 37, in order that the operator may use her other hand, to grasp the scissors 34 or other cutting instrument, in order to easily cut the exposed thread 37 without danger of damaging the material.

The seam stretcher strap 18, shown in Figures 6 and 7, operates in substantially the same manner as the strap 10. However, instead of a separate loop being provided for varying the length of the strap, the strap is formed with any suitable number of longitudinally spaced loops which are arranged selectively to be connected to the holder so as to vary the operative length of the strap. It will be seen that, in both forms of the invention, the strap may be adjusted to different lengths and can be readily attached to any suitable holder or support such as the foot 15. The seam stretcher may be comfortably used by either hand for altering all types of sewing and at a minimum expenditure of time, effort and cost.

The flexible strap, in all forms of the invention, is sulficiently strong and durable as to be used with any type of sewing material in which alterations are to be required. The adjustable loop for detachably connecting the strap to a fixed holder or the like constitutes means for quickly and economically exposing the threads of seams, basting,

3 v and the like, so that the'thr'eads of the seam are plainly visible and can be quickly removed so as todismantle or remodel the seamed garment without damaging the material.

It will be understood that the forms of the invention Shown are merely illustrative and that such changes may be made as come within the scope of the followingclaim.

I claim:

A seam stretcher for exposing the thread of material having parts connected together by at least a single thread so as to cut the thread, said seam stretcher including an elongated flexible strap having longitudinally spaced snap fastener elements, a separate loop member having a cooperating snap fastener element arranged to be detachably and selectively connected to one of the snap fastener elements on the strap for varying the operative length of the strap, said loop member adapted to be detachably connected to a relatively fixed holder, and fastening means longitudinally spaced from said loop member adjacent I an end of the strap for detachably connecting said end of the strap to the material on one side of the thread, so that upon the application of outward pressure applied to the loop member while'holding the material on the other side of the thread, the thread will be exposed to permit cutting of the thread.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED. STATES PATENTS 

